By Linda Blackford | Editor
Good Monday morning! Over the weekend, Cook’s Political Report switched the 6th District to a “toss-up” race, meaning it’s getting closer every day. All but one of the others is considered safe Republican territory, but McKenna Horsley talked to some of the Democratic candidates about why they are still making a run in ruby-red regions.
You wouldn’t think we’d have much to argue about over supporting kinship families, those aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins who take in their own family members so they don’t have to go to foster care. But here in Kentucky, we argue about it. A lot. Reporter Sarah Ladd has the latest.
Our DC bureau writes about the different ways the Trump administration appears to be already interfering with the midterm elections.
But there’s happier news in Lexington, where a local civics group underwent a fascinating experiment. What if you took a perfect sample of a city’s population and asked that group to take on some tough questions, such as should we pay council members bigger salaries? The first Civic Assembly worked hard, and now Lexington-Fayette residents will get to vote on the results. Commentary contributor Richard Young explains.
Democratic Congressional Candidate John Drew Williams speaks on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the annual St. Jerome Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky. (Austin Anthony / Kentucky Lantern)
By McKenna Horsley
John “Drew” Williams has put around 140,000 miles on his car since he began running as a Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer last year.
That’s amounted to about 15 oil changes, but Williams has traveled across the 1st Congressional District, which spans from West Kentucky to Frankfort.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Oct. 23, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)
By Sarah Ladd
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s auditor has asked the Court of Appeals to send her lawsuit against the Beshear administration back to Franklin Circuit Court so she can iron out the kinship care dispute that’s kept them in court for more than a year.
Competing signs in the same Anchorage, Alaska yard, seen Aug. 7, 2026, support the candidates for U.S. Senate in Alaska: incumbent Dan Sullivan, a Republican, and challenger Mary Peltola, a Democrat. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Department of Justice is stepping up its legal campaign over the midterm elections, suing Alaska over its U.S. Senate election and appealing a lawsuit against suspected noncitizen voters in California.
Election law experts have cast doubt on the strength of the cases, criticizing them as performative.
Last March, CivicLex organized the first Civic Assembly in Lexington to review Lexington’s merged government charter. (Photo courtesy Brandon Turner, Unsung Hero Media)
COMMENTARY
By Richard Young
Earlier this year, 30 Lexington residents, selected at random, spent more than 30 hours together talking about something that most of us don’t think about at all: the rules that underpin our local government.
These residents were Republicans, Democrats, and independents. They were younger and older, from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Some followed local issues closely. Others came knowing absolutely nothing about local government. And yet, after seven sessions of learning, discussion, and plenty of debate, they reached 85% agreement on three recommendations to change Lexington’s city charter.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Thanks so much for reading Morning Lantern. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.